Courtesy of Ria Variava

Sketchbook pages done by Variava where she explores different concepts.

When asked about her interests, the first thing senior Ria Variava thought of was fashion. Her mom used to work for Indian costume designer and fashion stylist Neeta Lulla before starting her own business designing traditional brideswear. Having grown up in a creative environment, Variava naturally took interest in art and fashion.

For as long as she can remember, Variava has been sketching faces recreationally, but during the pandemic, she began creating fashion designs as well and hasn’t stopped since. 

She enjoys exploring all kinds of fashion styles, from street wear to formal to avant-garde. Currently, she’s working on designing a mini collection where men’s streetwear meets luxury gems and jewels, and she is planning on creating a monochrome, charcoal-themed collection to play with shape and texture afterwards.

Variava’s ideas often hit her in the middle of the day. When that happens, she clings onto them in her head until she has the time to sketch them out. 

“Most of the time, I get inspired by music,” she told me. “Generally, I just look around me and find inspiration pretty much everywhere if I’m in a creative mindset.” 

This past summer, her interest in fashion went in another direction as she fixed her sewing machine and used the opportunity to learn to create clothing and accessories, mostly through YouTube tutorials. She has only made a couple items and doesn’t have much experience in working with fabrics, but she is on her way. 

She started with making bags and is currently working on creating a denim top with crochet yarn on the back that can be tied up like a corset.

In addition to sewing clothes, Variava has also been crocheting — she recently crocheted a scarf for her dog, a headband and a coaster.

“I think it’s such an interesting medium,” she said. “It’s art, but with fabrics on a human body. It’s just a very unique art form and the hustle of the industry has really intrigued me.”

About the fashion industry, she said, “It’s supposed to be very cutthroat and stressful, but I really like the business and energy that goes into that major industry. It’s fascinating the amount of blood, sweat and tears of so many people creating such great things.”

Another of Variava’s interests is film, which she’s explored through the Media Arts Program since freshman year. In MAP, Variava gained more exposure to film production and a deeper interest in aspects like script writing and lighting techniques.

“I enjoy the storytelling aspect and the way you can manipulate visuals and audio to make people feel what you want them to feel,” she said.

Her favorite project was creating a video poem with a friend as a junior because it was such an abstract project where she got to experiment with different kinds of shots and animation.

Despite being unsure about her future, Variava knows that she wants to go into either the fashion or film industry. Whether that’s being a fashion designer, working on layouts for a fashion magazine or creating ads, Variava wants to keep her creative side prominent in her life.

When asked what’s one lesson she learned from working with fashion, Variava said, “Have a lot of patience. The littlest things can set you off and there are annoyances everywhere, but you have to trust the process and persevere if you want to see your work come to life.”